What's on York

December 2015
/ Visit York

The problem
Destination Management Organisation (DMO) Visit York was looking for a 21st century way to promote events and festivals in the region. The solution needed to be interactive and dynamic – to integrate with the organisation’s existing information feeds, to allow users to access content on the go and for event goers to share and rate their experiences.

As part of VentureFest York 2014, Visit York ran a competition which saw local businesses competing for the chance to work on the project. As the winner of this competition, Control F1 was awarded the contract.

The solution
We set about building a tailor-made mobile solution, based on our destination marketing app Zanduli. The resulting app, “What’s on York”, provides information on events and festivals, which can be filtered by time period, location and event type, while mapping functionality helps users to find the best route.

Our inbuilt Analytics support has enabled Visit York to gain a deeper understanding of how the app is being used, and the kind of content users find most useful.

Competitions can also be hosted through the app, and to increase engagement users can upload their own photos, rate each event, and share the content through their social media channels.

The app plugs into Visit York’s existing information feeds, enabling it to update automatically with the latest information. The app is also designed to work without an internet connection so that users can still access the content and browse whilst offline.

The results
The What’s On York app is now helping Visit York to promote events across the region, encouraging both visitors and residents alike to make the most of what the destination has to offer.

Kate McMullen, Head of Consumer Products and Marketing at Make It York, said:

“Festivals and events are a key motivator for a visit and play a crucial role in the vibrancy of the city. This new app means we can get better information to even more visitors and residents about events such as the Food and Drink Festival. It’s also a brilliant new tool for event organisers to ensure their news is quite literally in the palm of everyone’s hand.”

Poppy Williamson, Digital Marketing Manager at Make It York, said:

“One of the most trusted ways of getting recommendations is through word of mouth. This new app means you can now access those recommendations from your top pocket. Over the last year, we’ve seen a 153% increase in visitors accessing information from their smartphones and this is a 21st century new way to find out what’s on in the city and its surroundings.”